How To Reheat Saucy Food In An Air Fryer (Pizza, Lasagne and Saucy BBQ)
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You have just bought an air fryer for the first time, and you are amazed to see how diverse this kitchen appliance is. From cooking food to reheating, an air fryer makes cooking a lot easier. However, you may not have reheated any saucy food in the air fryer yet. So, you may wonder how to reheat saucy food in an air fryer.
You can easily reheat food in an air fryer. Hence, it is also possible to reheat saucy food in an air fryer. However, you should not try to reheat all kinds of saucy food in an air fryer. You can only reheat saucy foods that have a limited amount of sauce, such as pizza, lasagna, and BBQs.
In this article, I will share how I reheat some saucy leftover dishes with my air fryer. However, let us first understand if you can reheat any saucy food in an air fryer.
Can You Reheat Saucy Food In An Air Fryer?
You can use an air fryer to reheat saucy food. Unfortunately, the taste and texture of the saucy food will not be the same. You can reheat different kinds of food in air fryers, especially fried food. But, it is not good at reheating extra gravy or saucy food. However, foods that contain a limited amount of sauce can be reheated in the air fryer.
But why are extra saucy foods not suitable for reheating in air fryers? It is because of the heating system of air fryers. An air fryer heats food through hot air, which causes the outer layer of food to turn crispy. Hence, the sauce on the outer layer of food can get caramelized, and the food will not stay liquid as before.
For example, reheating pasta in an air fryer is not a good idea because the sauce and cheese will get dry. However, some saucy foods are delicious even after the sauce gets dry and caramelized, such as BBQ meats.
I have reheated quite a few saucy foods on different occasions. The foods that I have reheated in the air fryer are: pizza, lasagna, and BBQ meats. As the foods are different from each other (except they contain sauce), the reheating process is also slightly different.
How To Reheat Different Saucy Foods In An Air Fryer?
Reheating saucy food is a bit tricky in air fryers. If you heat it too much, it can get burned and hard. Also, not all saucy, gravy and battered foods are suitable for reheating in an air fryer. There are no restrictions, but this type of food can get messy in the air fryer.
Trust me. I have tried reheating some saucy foods in my air fryer. Extra-saucy foods do not come out well from the fryer. However, I found some saucy foods nicely reheated by the air fryer, especially pizza, lasagna, and BBQ.
Here is how you should reheat them to avoid getting them burned:
How To Reheat Pizza In An Air Fryer?
You have probably reheated your pizza in the microwave and ended up with a soggy pizza in return. Try using an oven; the pizza can get dried out.
None of these methods worked well for me. So, I tried reheating leftover pizzas in my air fryer. And the result was too good to be true.
Step 1: Prepare the Air Fryer for Reheating Pizza
First, take perforated parchments and place them in the air fryer basket. If you do not have parchment, make holes in aluminum foil and then place them in the air fryer. Pizza can have a lot of cheese and sauce. It can get messy inside the fryer. Putting parchment or aluminum foil on the fryer can help to manage the mess.
Use perforated parchment or aluminum foil to let the hot air flow through them and to the bottom of the pizza slices.
Step 2: Place the Pizza Slices in the Air Fryer
Based on the size of your air fryer, you can put one or two slices of pizza in the air fryer basket. If the slices are too large for the basket, cut them, then place them on the parchment. Make sure they do not overlap or touch each other. Otherwise, the heat will not flow evenly through the slices.
Step 3: Reheating the Pizza
After placing the pizzas in the basket, close the basket. Then, heat the pizza at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for five minutes. The time can be less or more depending on the size and thickness of the pizza slices.
You can also check the pizzas after 3 minutes of heating time. If the slices seem reheated and the crusts seem browner, you can get them out. If not, you can cook them for another 2 minutes.
When the reheating is done, get the pizzas out. Wait for them to cool down a bit. When it is warm enough to touch, you can enjoy your pizza. They will be neither too soggy nor too dry. So, air fryers are considered the best kitchen appliances for reheating pizzas.
How to Reheat Lasagna In an Air Fryer?
If you have some leftover lasagna, you can use your air fryer instead of turning on your oven. Many people complain that reheating lasagna in air fryers dries it out too much. It can happen when you do not prepare the lasagna well for reheating.
Here is how I reheat leftover lasagna:
Step 1: Prepare the Lasagna for Reheating
If you want to get the best taste of lasagna after reheating, first, you need to store it well in the fridge. Also, do not let it sit in the fridge for too long. The longer it stays in the fridge, the more the sauce gets soaked up by the pasta. As a result, the lasagna will reheat poorly, not just in an air fryer but also in any kitchen appliance.
To avoid the pasta and sauce getting too dry, sprinkle a little bit of water on the lasagna before reheating.
Step 2: Preheating the Air Fryer
When you are reheating lasagna, you must preheat the air fryer. I preheat my air fryer to 375 degrees F for a few minutes.
Step 3: Placing the Lasagna in the Air fryer
I use the loaf pan of my air fryer to reheat leftover lasagna because it keeps things clean inside the air fryer basket. Cut the lasagna to fit the pan if you have to. Then cover the pan with a piece of aluminum foil. It will keep the moisture inside.
Step 4: Reheating the Lasagna
Set the reheating time to 10 minutes. Then check on the lasagna. If the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted; take the temperature with a food thermometer. You have to keep heating until it reaches 165 degrees f.
Before eating, let the lasagna cool down a bit, and enjoy the warm leftover lasagna.
How to Reheat Saucy BBQ In an Air Fryer?
Sometimes, we are left with saucy BBQs after the party. If you want to reheat the leftover BBQ ribs quickly, use your air fryer.
Here is how I use the air fryer to reheat saucy BBQs:
- Set the air fryer to 375 to 400 degrees F.
- Use some parchment paper or aluminum foil on the air fryer basket so that the sauce does not create any mess inside. I rub the parchment with some sauce to keep it moist.
- Cut the ribs into pieces that can fit inside the air fryer basket. Also, drizzle some oil over the ribs so that they do not get dry.
- Reheat the BBQ ribs for 10 minutes.
- After that, spread some BBQ sauce on the ribs and reheat them for another 5 minutes. Make sure the sauce does not burn while getting heated.
When you finish reheating the saucy BBQ ribs, let them sit for 5 minutes. Finally, you can enjoy the ribs. It will nicely caramelize the sauce on the top, and the meat will be juicy on the inside.
